1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to telecommunications systems and, more particularly, to user interfaces for use with such systems.
2. Background Information
In rapidly evolving telecommunications environments, telecommunications service providers require increased flexibility, interoperability, redundancy and scalability. This rapid growth has created a demand for systems which are versatile and adaptable. Many systems interface with multiple carriers which integrate services such as messaging, conferencing, ring tones and ring back tones, prepaid voice/data and concierge services. Service providers employ Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) gateways, media servers and signaling gateways in order to provide advanced media capabilities, enabling both fixed and mobile providers to offer services across converged networks while reducing both capital and operational expenditures.
There are many different architectures that are used in information technology (IT) networks, as in telecommunications systems. Within those architectures, multiple customers are utilizing the services. Thus, service providers need to have the capability to configure each system efficiently, accurately and to customize that system in order to accommodate the variations from system to system.
Configuration, monitoring and supervision of any telecom network can be time consuming due to the large amount of information contained in the system. Performing configuration and oversight requires a robust and powerful user interface. However, creating a user interface can involve a laborious task that requires a skilled software engineer to write tens of thousands of lines of code which can take many months. A special skill set is required to write JAVA code, which is commonly used to develop a user interface that is suitable for a complex system that is required to run on multiple platforms. In addition to initially creating a user interface, the need also arises to dynamically update the system information once it has already been configured and deployed such as when system requirements or other parameters change. However, updates can require system downtime, and/or may require a re-boot of the system, which is costly, and often unacceptable from the customer's perspective.
There remains a need, therefore, for a method and associated software program for rapid development of a user interface for a complex system and a need for such a method and program which can be easily updated (without requiring a re-write of a large portion of code) and does not require a new software version, recompiling or system downtime.